Corex
This page is about the cough syrup Corex. For the steel making process, please see COREX.
Corex is a cough syrup sold by Pfizer Inc., a global pharmaceutical company. It is available in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and a few other South Asian countries. Corex is a prescribed medicine and can only be bought with a prescription from a general physician.
Its active ingredients are chlorpheniramine maleate and codeine phosphate.
Corex is one of the most commonly available over the counter drugs in India, and is used as a cheap and readily available substitute for Codeine.
Legally, Corex can only be obtained by a physician's prescription, but studies show that more than 90% of the product is sold without any prescription.
Corex is not generally a fatal drug substitute, unless taken in extremely high quantities. However, many side effects are common. Corex is known to cause short term memory loss, sleeplessness, tremors and spasms. Muscular pains and dehydration are other common side-effects.
Long term abuse leads to serious kidney damage. Corex has a high sugar content, and may be unsuitable for acute diabetic patients.